


he loves me, he loves me not

by wordsofink



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Happy Ending, High School AU, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Depression, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mortal AU, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace - Freeform, Nico has a hearing impairment, Some angst, Some misunderstanding, Writer!Nico, bi!will, friends to strangers to boyfriends :), solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-05 08:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14039778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsofink/pseuds/wordsofink
Summary: Will has a crush on Nico. Nico has a crush on Percy. Or does he?Alternatively: Will and Nico are best friends until they're not. Is it better if they go their separate ways, or can they kiss and make up?*characters are not mine unless otherwise stated*





	he loves me, he loves me not

Nico had never quite gotten used to the rush of immediate sound. It’d been at least ten years, and he still held his breath for the muted sounds to become so much clearer. It always took him a few seconds to adjust, to make sure the hearing aids were in properly, that they were comfortable. Then he’d fix his hair (though that was a pointless task as it never did what he wanted) and head downstairs to breakfast.

“Did you remember to print your paper?” Hazel asks. Nico curses. He’d finished his paper and then had taken a long shower. He liked writing, but sometimes it was tedious (especially when it was a class assignment). Hazel laughs, pushing a plate of eggs towards Nico. “Open your computer. I’ll print it while you eat.”

He thanks her around a mouthful of food, smiling when he hears a car horn outside. He shovels the rest of his eggs into his mouth, grabbing his paper from Hazel. He knows Will will wait for him, but he doesn’t like to keep Will waiting. Will doesn’t like to be late, even if he’s fifteen minutes early. The car horn sounds again, and Nico rolls his eyes.

“Thought I’d have to come and get you myself,” Will says. He laughs as he backs out of Nico’s driveway. “You’re such a slowpoke.”

Nico huffs. “Maybe you’re just impatient.” Will rolls his eyes. They have this conversation almost every morning. Even if Nico manages to make it out the door by the first car horn. “We’re still going to get there before the buses.”

“Not if we get stuck behind one,” Will says, but he’s smiling. He doesn’t mind that they’re a little later, even if he seems like he does. He just doesn’t want to be late. “Hey, did you finish that math homework? I was up so late trying to figure it out.”

Nico laughs. Math was not Nico’s area of expertise. He did so much better with words. Words were flexible. Math was not. “I did it, but I doubt you’d want to copy off of my homework.”

Will sighs. “At least you’ve got something to copy off of. I erased so much, I think I’m doing the wrong problems now.” Will sticks his tongue out. Nico just turns up the radio, bobbing his head in time to the music. He wasn’t sure what song was on, as Will’s dad was constantly giving him CDs full of random songs to listen to.

“Do you know what this is?”

Will shrugs. “Beach music. He said it’d get us in the mood for spring break.” Nico laughs. He was already very much in the mood for spring break, though it was still at least two weeks away. “I think he should have given us something more focused. I’m going to be daydreaming all day now.”

Nico nods. He’d been procrastinating writing his paper in favor of working on a short story that had been tumbling around his head lately. Now, with this music, he thought he might be able to get the next part finished this week.

“Well, it’s the thought,” Nico says. “Even if he is promoting daydreaming over focusing.”

“That’s my dad,” Will says, laughing. Nico nods. Will’s dad was the kind of man who wore Hawaiian shirts to work because he could never decide on just one color for the day. He also wore sandals whenever he could. Which was whenever he wanted to, as he owned his own music store in town and made the rules.

“Any crazy plans for spring break?” Nico asks. Will’s dad loved to think of the craziest things to do, half of them usually vetoed by Will’s mom.

“He wants to go skydiving this time,” Will says. “I don’t think Mama is on board. She said he could go if he wanted but that we’d be staying home. Though, Michael seemed on board.”

Nico rolls his eyes. Michael was the more adventurous of Will’s siblings. He followed their dad on most of his crazy ideas, whether it was bungee jumping or walking across glass bridges.

“You’ll have to tell me how it is,” Nico says.

“Oh, no. I’m not doing it,” Will says. Nico laughs. Will was more of a homebody. He loved the comforts of home. “I’ll be hiking on a trail or reading or something.”

“Your dad will be so disappointed.”

“He’ll get over it. I’ve got plenty of siblings to back me up.” That Will did. He was a middle child in a family of eight. Nico wasn’t sure how he managed. Nico only had two sisters, and one was at college most of the time. He couldn’t imagine having five siblings.

“We made it. Just in time.” Nico looks up to see the buses pulling in around the other side of the school. He rolls his eyes again.

“Well, time for school.” Will nods solemnly. They part ways as they don’t have their first class together. “See you at lunch.” Will gives Nico a hug, smiling.

“Don’t miss me too much,” he says. Nico smiles.

“Not a chance.” Will pretends to look hurt before pretending to blow a kiss to Nico. He doesn’t wait to see if Nico caught it before walking into a classroom.  
-  
Will was sitting outside in the sun yet again. He’s pretty sure he’ll double the number of freckles he has before it’s even spring break. Nico was sitting next to him, eyes everywhere but his homework.

“I thought we were going to study,” Will says. He’s teasing. He knows Nico can’t study unless it’s quiet. And quiet it is not.

They’re watching the swim team practice, even though the season is over. Their swim team was ranked third in the state for high school, and the coach was pretty good about keeping the boys training throughout the year. And for some reason, Nico really liked to watch the practices. Will had asked him before, but Nico had just shrugged. Will thought maybe Nico just liked watching almost naked boys swim. Which, he had to admit, wasn’t a bad reason at all.

“We don’t have anything to study,” Nico says. “Just homework, really. Here’s my math from today. Maybe you can figure out what I’m supposed to do.”

Will laughs. He’s no better at math than Nico. “I’d much rather read that story you’ve been writing,” he says.

Nico looks surprised. “Really?” They hadn’t ever talked much about Nico’s writing. Will wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be a personal thing, and Nico had never asked Will to read anything. “Um, sure. I’m still working on some things. It’s nowhere close to finished yet.”

Will shrugs. He liked reading, and he was interested to know what made Nico absolutely unapproachable some days. Over the years, he’d gotten used to Nico writing in his head, often staring at nothing, mouthing words, his pen frantically jotting down words. At first, Will had tried to talk to Nico, but it was like Nico couldn’t hear him.

“Yeah. If you’re okay with that. If you’re not, it’s okay. I can wait.”

Nico shakes his head. “No, it’s okay. I was just surprised. I didn’t realize you wanted to.”

Will shrugs. “Your papers for class are amazing. You’re a great writer. Why wouldn’t I want to read your stuff?” He smiles. “Besides, when you’re famous, I want to be able to say that I was one of the first people to read your works.”

Nico rolls his eyes, pulling out his laptop. He clicks on a few things before pulling up a Word document. “Here. This is what I’ve been working on recently. It’s not done.”

Will smiles, moving to rest his head on Nico’s shoulder. It was kind of bony, but it was more comfortable than the bleachers.

“It’s okay if you don’t like it. Honesty is important,” Nico says after a moment. Will hums. He really likes it so far. It seems to be about two boys who are kind of friends, and one likes the other. But the other doesn’t know it. One, Will thinks, is definitely Nico. But there isn’t much description about the other one yet. Maybe that was the part Nico was still writing? Maybe he just didn’t want people to know who he liked?

“It’s really good, Nico. I can’t wait until it’s finished.” Nico blushes, and Will smiles. He ruffles Nico’s hair. “Really. It’s amazing. I think you could be an author.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend.” Will pushes Nico’s shoulder.

“Sure.”

Nico laughs. “And you’re a really nice guy.” Will just shrugs.

“I can be both nice and honest. But, seriously, can I read this when it’s finished?”

Nico shrugs. “Probably. Depends on how it turns out.” Will wonders if Nico was waiting to ask the guy out, like the character in the story. He wanted to know who the guy was, though they’d never talked about stuff like that. They’d both come out to each other when they were in sixth grade (Nico gay, Will bisexual), but they’d never talked about crushes or anything.

Will, personally, had a crush on Nico, though he doubted Nico had a crush on him. They were best friends. That was weird, right? To have a crush on your best friend? Besides, what if Nico didn’t think about Will that way? He didn’t want to make it awkward.

“Hey, look, there’s Percy.” Will looks over to where Percy’s just gotten out of the water. His black hair is sticking up from being contained underneath the swim cap. He’s got a towel slung around his neck. Will used to have a crush on Percy, but he’d gotten over it pretty quickly. (The day he and Nico had ridden the Ferris wheel together.)

“He’s the captain, right?” Nico nods. He makes a note in the notebook he carries around with him. Will wonders if Nico just got another idea for his story. He hopes so. He wants to know the ending so badly. He wants to know if Nico and the mysterious crush get together. “I kind of wish I looked like that,” Will says.

Nico smirks, poking Will’s side. Will squirms, laughing. “Yeah? Well, you’ve got to work out more. Reading textbooks and singing in the shower doesn’t exactly build muscle.”

Will rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well. It’s a lot less work.”

Nico laughs. “Maybe. I still don’t know how you read those textbooks. I find them boring.”

“Says the person who looks up the history of words in their free time.” Nico pouts.

“That’s completely different.” Will raises his eyebrows. He’s about to say something when a whistle blows. There’s a quiet splash, and then Percy is racing down the length of the pool. Will watches the way Percy’s muscles ripple underneath the water, the way he comes up to breathe. He wishes he were athletic, though he isn’t sure he’d like to trade his comfy reading chair for some kind of sports equipment.

“You want to go for ice cream after this?” Will asks.

Nico smirks. “Not trying to work on that summer body yet?” Will shrugs. He had plenty of time to work on that. Besides, he was mostly fit. (Not that you could see the muscles all that much, but they were there.) “Yeah. It’s your turn to pay.”

Will sighs, nodding. “Fine. But no sprinkles this time. They cost extra.”  
-  
Nico wakes up late, his alarm sounding more like some distant rumble than something that’s supposed to wake him up. He fumbles around, trying to find the off button. Then he jumps into the shower. He’d been up late last night texting Will. (They had gotten into an argument about whether or not penguins had knees. Science had said yes, but Nico was still unconvinced. They weren’t real knees. Just penguin knees, he thought. But those are still knees, Will had countered.)

Nico makes his way down to breakfast, humming as he goes. Hazel is making her lunch for the day. She smiles at Nico before dashing out the front door, barely waving goodbye. The day before she’d asked out this boy, and now she was excited to meet up with him before school started. Nico had offered her a ride, but she didn’t want her older brother spying on her, she’d said.

He eats his breakfast while he reads some required reading he hadn’t gotten to the night before. Then he washes his dishes, glancing at the clock. It was past the time Will usually got there. Was Will running late? Nico checks his phone, surprised to see that there were three texts from Will. Nico glances out the window. Sure enough, Will was waiting in his usual spot.

Will rolls his eyes as Nico gets into the car. Nico pushes a few buttons on the radio as Will backs up. He wonders why Will has his music on so low. Usually, Nico had to ask Will to turn it down. Nico always thought that Will was going to need hearing aids when he got older because he listened to his music so loud.

Hearing aids. Nico freezes. His hands move up to his ears. Will looks over, a funny look on his face.

“You okay?” he asks. Luckily, Nico was okay at reading lips, especially Will’s, since they’d been friends for so long. Nico nods. He didn’t like to call attention to his hearing impairment. Sometimes it made him feel lesser, even though he knew that wasn’t the case. Some people needed glasses, some tutoring, some canes. Nico needed hearing aids.

Nico sighs. It was going to be a long day.

Lucky for him, most of his classes were boring, so he just read the material, only jotting down notes when the teacher wrote them on the board. Will kept giving him funny looks, and Nico wondered if Will had been trying to talk to him. They did that sometimes when the class was boring or if one of them had forgotten to do their homework the night before.

Nico scribbles a note onto a corner of his page, carefully placing it on Will’s desk. Will grins at him, glancing at their teacher. Nico rolled his eyes, turning back to look at the board. They did this often enough that they had gotten pretty good at not getting caught.

Will winks at him as Nico unfolds the paper. Will’s drawn a sun with sunglasses on its face. Nico rolls his eyes. He adds a big smile to the sun and some squiggly lines to act as the sun’s rays. He passes it back to Will. They continue to go back and forth, adding a little bit to the drawing each time. Every now and then, Will will ask if Nico heard that last bit. He just shakes his head. He’s not paying attention to the lesson at all.

“Lizards don’t wear fedoras,” Will says as they’re packing up their things after class. Nico has to ask him to repeat that a few times. He blames it on the noisy classroom. Their teacher comes up to him just as Nico’s about to reply. She hands him a rough outline of the lesson, giving a small smile.

“Only because you’re a good student,” she says. Will looks at Nico after she leaves.

“What was that about?”

It takes him a moment to answer. “I, um, told her I couldn’t focus too well today because I’d stayed up so late last night doing homework and stuff. So she gave me the outline of the lesson so I could study.” Will nods slowly. Nico can’t tell if Will believes him or not.

“Huh. Wish she loved me, too.” Nico smiles, rolling his eyes. They head to lunch, and for the first time, Nico’s really glad that he and Will don’t have many classes together. It was kind of embarrassing to forget something that you needed to function like everyone else.

During lunch, Nico has to scoot really close to Will in order to keep up the conversation. He keeps leaning towards Will, watching his mouth so that he can catch the words. He feels like he gets most of the words right. A few times Will just shakes his head, repeating what he’s just said.

“I don’t know what’s up with you today,” Will says. “But I don’t think I mind too much.” Nico’s not sure he heard that last part right. He doesn’t ask. Will just ruffles his hair, shooting him a quick wink before heading to his next class. Nico lets out a sigh of relief. Next time this happened, he was going to call home in case his father was still there, and maybe he could get his hearing aids delivered.

When he gets home, he immediately runs upstairs to put his hearing aids in. He sighs, smiling as he heads back downstairs. With everything he can hear now, it’s still kind of hard to believe that he’d forgotten to put them in this morning.  
-  
Will’s tired, so naturally, his mind drifts to spring break and Nico. He wonders if he could plan a beach trip with Nico. That’d be fun, right? Except, Nico doesn’t like getting in the water. Will sighs. He doesn’t understand Nico’s aversion to water, but he respects it. He could plan a hiking trip, maybe. Nico liked to hike. Or they could go for a bike ride. Or they could even just hang around town and go to the movies and eat ice cream.

“Hey, answer my question.” Someone shoves Will’s side, almost knocking him off the couch. “Earth to Will!”

Will winces at the bruise he’s sure Kayla just left on his side. “What was that for?” He tries to look hurt, but Kayla’s not even paying attention.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. You’re completely zoned out. Anyway, do you want pizza tonight? Mom and Dad are going on one of their date nights. I was going to order without you, but Lee said I should just be patient.” Kayla rolls her eyes, sighing.

“Yeah, pizza is fine. Pepperoni for me, please.” Kayla nods, already dialing the number for takeout.

While he waits for the pizza to arrive, Will decides to do some homework. He pulls out his science notes, sighing when he remembers that they’re half finished. He’s about to call Nico when he spots their drawing. He smiles. Nico was always such a good artist, even if he drew the most random of things.

Will smiles. Though he loved science, he didn’t really regret missing the entire class to trade doodles back and forth with Nico. In fact, passing notes was kind of romantic, wasn’t it? It’d happened in Nico’s story that Will had read a few days ago. Nico had passed notes to his mystery crush during a math class.

Did Nico have a crush on Will? They didn’t have a math class at the same time, but that could just be artistic liberties, right? And Nico was way more open and friendly with Will than with everyone else. He didn’t smile at just anyone who met his gaze across the room. And Nico was always poking Will, teasing him, tickling him. It couldn’t just be a coincidence, right?

Heading into private browsing mode, Will searches how to know if someone is crushing on you. Will feels the butterflies in his stomach as he reads the top ten signs. He checks a few more websites, and he’s sure. He must be the mystery guy in the story. Nico has a crush on him!

Will decides to wait at least a week, though, to make sure he’s not just overanalyzing everything. He doesn’t want to embarrass himself if he’s wrong. That would be heartbreaking and so awkward.

He starts the next day, watching Nico closely. Nico gives him a strange look before knocking lightly on Will’s head.

“You okay in there? Not staying up too late, right?” Will smiles, shaking his head. Nico raises his eyebrows, smirking. “Whatever you say, Solace.”

Nico doesn’t poke anyone else but Will. He doesn’t even touch other people, really. Will catches Nico looking at him in their science class by yawning. And then during lunch, Nico rests his head on Will’s shoulder.

“Hey, Nico?” Nico hums into Will’s neck. (It tickles.) “Do you have a crush on anyone?”

Nico lifts his head. “Um, yeah. Why?” His cheeks are turning red, and Will thinks it’s adorable. (He’s also pretty sure his own cheeks are turning pink.)

“Just wondering. What’s he like?”

Nico frowns at Will before shrugging. “Like a normal guy, I guess. He’s tall, handsome. He’s got these bright eyes and messy hair.” Nico sighs a little, and Will’s heart does a flip. “Um, yeah,” Nico finishes.

“What about you? Since I just told you mine.”

Will smiles. “He’s got dark hair and beautiful eyes,” Will says softly. “And he’s so smart and funny. Really talented.” Nico nods, a funny look on his face. Will wonders if he was being too obvious.

“Lucky guy,” Nico says. Will nods. Nico was a lucky guy. “Well, best of luck to each of us,” he says.

Will nods. He was already figuring out how he was going to ask Nico out. He knew Nico wasn’t as much of a romantic sap as he was, but he still wanted to have some flair. After all, it wasn’t every day that one asked out their crush.  
-  
The day starts out as usual. Nico puts in his hearing aids, says goodbye to Hazel, heads to school with Will. Except, Will is acting kind of weird. He seems jittery, almost like he’s nervous. Nico scans his mind for any upcoming tests or projects or papers. He even tries to think of any troubles with any of Will’s siblings or parents, but he can’t think of anything.

“You okay?” Nico asks.  
Will nods. “Just dandy,” he says. Nico also notices that Will is wearing a button-down shirt, which is odd. Will only ever seems to wear colorful T-shirts. He didn’t dress up unless he had to. Was there some kind of presentation today that Nico didn’t know about?

“Why’re you dressed up?”

Will shrugs. “Felt like it today.” That was weird. Usually, Will made the dirty laundry excuse, even though Nico knew Will did his own laundry.

Will just turns up the music, singing along as he drives them to school. Nico keeps trying to think of a reason for why Will is acting so weird, but he can’t. He doesn’t get any signs during school either. Will’s mostly normal. There’s just that blush on his cheeks during lunch that makes Nico wonder again. He glances around the cafeteria, wondering if maybe something funny was happening.

He spots Percy diagonal from him at another table. He’s talking to Annabeth, a good friend of his. Nico freezes, remembering Will’s description of his crush the other day. Did Will have a crush on Percy? Was that why he never complained about going to all of those swim practices with Nico? Nico runs through everything Will had said, and he had to agree. It fit Percy pretty well. He was smart and funny and talented. He had black hair and pretty eyes. Could they possibly be crushing on the same person?

“Earth to Nico?” Will calls. Nico snaps his gaze away from Percy.

“Are you going to ask someone out today?” Nico blurts. He’s careful not to say Percy’s name. If Will didn’t tell him a name, there was a reason. Maybe he knew that Nico also liked him and didn’t want to make it awkward. (Well, too late for that, Nico guesses.)

Will’s cheeks go red. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe?” He scratches the back of his head, a sure sign that he’s nervous now. Nico isn’t sure if he should encourage Will to ask Percy out or not. On one hand, it would be what a good friend would do. But if Will knew Nico liked Percy, wouldn’t he want Nico to ask Percy out? And maybe Percy would like Will better. (He was blond and had pretty eyes and was so smart. Like Annabeth.)

“You should go for it,” Nico says slowly, adding a smile at the end.

Will looks surprised. “Yeah?” Nico nods, trying to look encouraging. “Okay. I was planning to do it after school.” That was a good idea, Nico thought. There’d be fewer people, though Percy had never minded attention. (If it were Nico, he’d rather be asked out somewhere quiet. He hated extra attention.)

“Want me to come with you?” Nico asks.

Will frowns for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. That’d be good.”

Nico smiles. “It’ll be fine. Anyone would be lucky to date you.” Will blushes at that, shrugging.

“I hope so,” he says.

After school, he meets Will in the school’s courtyard. He’s not sure why they’re meeting here. Percy’s heading to the pool to practice. He finds Will sitting on a bench, a rose in his hands. Nico smiles. Will, ever the romantic. Will smiles when he sees Nico, standing up.

“Hey,” he says, his voice soft. Nico smiles at Will.

“Ready?”

Will shrugs. “Ready as ever.” Nico turns to leave, expecting Will to follow him. He turns around, about to ask what Will’s doing, if he’s getting cold feet, when he sees Will holding the rose out towards him.

“Nico,” Will starts, and Nico can feel his heart pounding out of his chest. “I know we’re best friends, and I hope we always are. But I’ve got this giant crush, and I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date with me?”

Will looks so hopeful, a bashful smile on his face. He’s holding out the rose with one hand, scratching his neck with the other. And it all clicks into place. The nerves, the nice shirt, the winking, the flirting. Nico had thought that had just been how their friendship was. He’d never thought more of it.

“Will,” he says. He doesn’t have to continue, what with the way that Will’s shoulders droop, his gaze dropping to his feet. He can tell Will’s trying not to cry, and he hates to think that he’s just hurt his best friend’s feeling.

“It’s fine,” Will says. His voice is rough, and Nico just wants to hug him. Except, he can’t. “I mean, I guess, I just thought. You know? But I guess I was wrong. So it’s okay.” Will swipes his hand across his face. Nico isn’t sure what to say.

“We’re still best friends,” Nico says softly.

Will looks at him, a watery smile on his face. “Yeah. Best friends forever.” Nico nods. He forces himself to move forward, holding out his arms a little awkwardly. He’s kind of surprised when Will accepts the hug, his head falling onto Nico’s shoulder. Nico rubs his back, trying to figure out how he feels about all of this.

Will is his best friend. He’d never thought of Will that way before. He hadn’t thought of anyone that way before, except Percy.

“Sorry I made this awkward,” Will says. He pouts. Will reaches to pat Nico’s head. “Oh,” he says. Then, “Are these hearing aids?”

Nico tries to laugh. This whole day is so weird. “Yeah. I need them to hear properly.”

Will slaps his forehead. “I’m so stupid. You’ve probably had these forever.” Nico shrugs. Will wasn’t the most observant person he’d ever met, but he’d kind of thought Will already knew. “And that’s why you don’t like water. Gods, I’m stupid.”

Nico smiles. “You’re not stupid, Will. Just oblivious. There’s a difference.” Will’s shoulder sag.

“So, if it wasn’t me, who’s your crush?” Nico hesitates. Not because he’s embarrassed about liking Percy, but he just kind of rejected Will.

“Percy,” Nico says. Will nods, biting his lip.

“Guess I can’t compete with him.” He shrugs, turning to pack up his stuff. Nico feels like he should say something, tell Will that he’s amazing, that anyone would be lucky to have him. But he can’t, because then it’d be like lying. Because if Will were so amazing, why wouldn’t he want him? Nico curses, upset that words have failed him that this important moment. He doesn’t know how to make Will feel special and okay without throwing Percy in his face. So he just pats Will’s back and pretends the whole thing never happened.  
-  
Will glances down the hallway before sticking the sticky note to Nico’s locker. Once upon a time, he’d have just given it to Nico, or just said it to him. But that was over a year ago, and they hadn’t really talked since just before spring break their junior year. Now, they were almost graduates, just a few months in between them. Spring break and prom, and then freedom. (The kind that came with ever-increasing student debt and anxiety.)

Will waves to Travis and Katie as they walk by him. They were in his history class, and he usually ate lunch with them. Somehow, without Nico by his side, he’d made a lot of new friends. They weren’t quite like Nico- he didn’t go over to their houses or eat dinner with their families- but they were nice enough, and they kept him company.

“Ready for the game?” someone (Lou Ellen?) calls to Will. Will’s confused until he remembers that he’d agreed to go to the soccer match after school. One of his new friends, Cecil, was playing today, and Will had agreed to go and support him.

“Yeah, wouldn’t miss it.” He smiles, heading to his first class. He’s hoping for an empty classroom, just some time to relax before school starts. Senior hadn’t been bad, but it had been kind of hectic in a way that Will wasn’t sure he liked. There were so many things to do, people to meet. He’d been accepted into every school he’d applied to, and now he had three weeks to decide where he wanted to go.

(When he’d gotten the acceptance letters, he’d almost dialed Nico’s number out of habit. He’d gotten halfway through the number before he remembered that their last text had been last year. Then he’d just sat on his bed, more upset than anyone who had just gotten accepted into three schools of their choosing wanted to be.)

“Hey, man!” It’s Percy, and Will almost laughs with how stupid it seems that he still blames Percy’s stupid face for coming between Nico and him. “Did you get those answers for the worksheet? I totally spaced this weekend. Coach has been on us, and then Annabeth and I had our anniversary.”

Will listens to Percy ramble on as he pulls out his worksheet. Percy thanks him, dutifully copying them down.

“I would ask Annabeth, but I’ve been completely spacing lately.”

“Maybe you should get more sleep,” Will says.

“Probably. I’ve been training so much. I got all of those offers and such.” Will nods. He remembers reading something in the local paper about that, Percy signing with some big school. It’d been in the same issue that had done a feature on Bianca di Angelo’s life as a memoriam to her.

(If Will had to choose a day that Nico officially stopped talking to him, that’d be the day. The day after Bianca died. The day of they’d spent curled up in Nico’s bed, not talking, hardly daring to breathe. It’d felt almost like old times, except, Bianca was dead, and they weren’t friends anymore. And then the next day, it’d all fallen apart. Nico had traded in his limited color for black, his dark wash jeans for black ones. He’d even added a skull ring to his finger. He’d traded his friendship with Will for loud music and silence.)

“Thanks so much, man,” Percy says, jerking Will out of his thoughts. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Will just shrugs. He was thinking of heading to New York in the fall because they had some really nice programs he was hoping to get into. He still wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do, but he was starting to narrow it down. He wanted to do something in the medical field, wanted to help people. (It didn’t hurt that he’d overheard that Nico was heading off to New York as well.)

The classroom starts to fill up, and Will pretends not to notice when Nico walks in. He wonders if Nico got his sticky note, what his reaction was. Did he just throw all of Will’s notes in the trash? (Did he even know they were Will’s?) The notes were something he’d started after starting senior year. Nico had practically disappeared, doing his best to hide and not be seen. But Will wasn’t quite ready to let go of their friendship. Nico needed a friend, and Will didn’t see anyone else stepping up. (And maybe Will still had a tiny [huge] crush on Nico.)

Will sighs. School was almost over, and then he’d be working his butt off to make sure he had something saved up for college. Maybe that was what Nico was waiting for, too. A new beginning. Will hoped so.  
-  
The only problem with hearing aids, Nico thought, was that he couldn’t quite listen to music like other kids. It was hard to put earbuds in when you already had something in your ears. (He’d tried headphones, but they’d hurt his head.) So Nico’s listening to his music out loud, the bass and drum blaring to the extent that Nico isn’t sure there are actual words to the song. It’s not that he likes this music, but it has a tendency to drown out his thoughts, which he likes.

He pulls out his homework. Despite his appearance and demeanor, he’s a straight-A student. He’s working so hard to be able to leave. He hates being at home with his mama’s sad eyes, and he doesn’t really like being at school where he catches sight of Will’s blond hair from afar. He just wants to be somewhere where no one knows him yet. He hates being the kid who’s sister died in a car wreck, the kid who just can’t seem to get his life together, the kid no one wants to talk to anymore.

A bright colored square of paper falls out when he reaches for his notebook. It’s a little crumpled, and Nico has to gently remove the corner from the middle. He sighs when he sees it. Another sticky note. He’d started getting them at the beginning of the school year. Someone just left them on his locker every few mornings. They never said much, sometimes just had little doodles. Once, on his birthday, he’d found a package of Mythomagic cards (wrapped, of course) on his desk.

He had yet to figure out who the mystery person was, but he hoped it wasn’t some secret admirer ploy. It was senior year, and Nico didn’t care. He didn’t want to get tangled up in the complicated ritual of dating and being boyfriends with someone. He’d gotten over Percy pretty quickly after he’d started dating Annabeth, realizing how stupid he’d been to think that Percy had eyes (and a heart) for anyone besides his best friend.

(It was a kind of stupid trope, Nico thought. Falling for your best friend. Because his mama had fallen for her best friend, and look where that got her. Her husband had run off, and her daughter was dead. And he wasn’t too much of a son these days. But, hopefully, it worked out for Percy.)

Nico looks up when he hears footsteps behind him. He hadn’t heard the sliding doors over his music, and his mama had fallen into some kind of silence after Bianca’s death.

“Cookies?” she asks. Baking was her solace, so their house was bursting with baked goods now. She’d asked him to bring the buckets of cookies or cupcakes or scones to his friends at school, but Nico had just shrugged. Now, he takes a few cookies. He’d always loved his mama’s baking, but now it just seemed kind of mediocre. He wonders if there was some truth about baking with love. (He wonders if his love isn’t enough.)

“Thanks, Mama,” he says. She nods, leaving the plate on the table as she heads back inside.

Nico glances over his backyard, his eyes finding the run-down treehouse he and Will had tried to build when they were kids. Will’s dad had come over to help them, but none of them had any experience with tools or building. So it’d been more of a dilapidated shack, even in its early days. Now, it was just a mess.  
Still, they’d loved playing in it as kids. They’d pretended that they were adventurers or explorers or lost in the woods. Sometimes, they’d play Mythomagic, even though Will hated the game with a passion. (He always lost.) Once, they’d had a picnic there, but it’d been ruined as ants kept stealing away their food. (Neither of them liked bugs very much.) And then on the eve of their sixth-grade graduation (the last night in the treehouse), they’d had a sleepover.

Nico smiles at the memory. Will had been so paranoid about bugs crawling into his sleeping bag. Nico had been worried about splinters. They couldn’t really see the stars because of light pollution, and the floor was far from comfortable. They’d ended up freezing cold, snuggling together for warmth, even in the heat of summer. And then they’d kissed. Because neither of them had kissed anyone before, and they weren’t about to let their best friend out into the world of dating without some kissing experience.

So they’d been each other’s first kiss. (And somewhere in the back of Nico’s mind, he’d kind of thought Will would be his last. Which was currently true as Nico had yet to kiss anyone for real.)

Nico sighs. He really did miss Will. Especially now that Hazel had a boyfriend and was usually over at his house. And that Bianca was gone, he was left with a lot of alone time, time when his thoughts ran wild without anyone to share them with. He thought about calling Hazel, or even just texting her, but he didn’t want to bother her. She and Frank were studying for their chemistry test coming up.

Nico glances at his math homework. He had no idea what he was doing or why he’d even signed up to take calculus. It wasn’t like he’d understood pre-calculus. But Will hadn’t been there to talk him out of it, and Hazel had. So he’d gotten the encouraging lecture instead of Will trying to convince him to take an extra science. (Not that Nico wanted to take either of them.) Though, if Nico passed this class and did well enough, there was a good chance he wouldn’t have to take math in college.

Dinner that night is quiet, Hazel filing the space by talking about Frank and Jason and Jason’s girlfriend. Nico’s not even sure if this all really happened, but he has to give Hazel credit for trying to make everything better. Dinner is rounded out with more cookies until Nico’s sure he’s going to gain at least ten pounds before he leaves for college. Maybe he should start working out.

“Oh, and I saw Will today,” Hazel says. She looks at Nico. Even Mama looks at Nico. (Nico wonders if she’s also mourning Nico’s friendship with Will along with Bianca’s death.) “He asked about you. I told him you were doing okay.”

Nico nods. That’s how he’s been these past few months. Okay.

“I guess his birthday is coming up or something.” Nico nods. “Are you going to get him a present?” Nico shrugs. He wasn’t sure. He always had a hard time figuring out what to get people for their birthdays, and he hadn’t talked to Will in over a year. Would that be awkward? Would Will think that he was trying to rekindle their friendship? Did Nico want to? It was kind of his fault that they’d stopped talking. A person can only be ignored for so long before they just leave.

“Probably not,” Nico says. He’s very aware that both his sister and mom are looking at him, something that hadn’t really happened in a while. “I mean, we haven’t talked in forever. He’s probably forgotten about me.”

Hazel laughs, which was not what Nico was expecting. “Yeah, right. If forgetting means being all cute and blushy when you’re around.”

Nico raises his eyebrows. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even look at me anymore.”

Hazel just rolls her eyes. “How would you know? Do you ever look at him?”

Nico huffs. Hazel had him there. “Fine. What would I even get him?”  
-  
Will’s day had been weird. It’d started as normal, with his dad singing at the top of his lungs in the shower, his mom making breakfast, trying her best to control the chaos that was his siblings. He’d driven Kayla and him to school, getting there just as the buses pulled in.

The weird part had started when he’d seen Nico standing outside the school. Since Will stopped driving Nico to school, Nico had always gotten to school later. But there he was, just leaning against the brick wall thing the school had insisted to build along the sidewalk. Will gives him an awkward wave before heading inside.

He deposits his usual note, this time just a doodle of a sunshine, on Nico’s locker. Then he heads to class. The class had been as usual, except, Will’s gaze kept being pulled towards Nico. The boy was scribbling furiously in his notebook, even though they were watching some boring documentary. Nico would look up, around, and then back at his paper. Sometimes, Will could hear the angry swipe of Nico’s pen scratching through what he’d written.

He wonders if Nico knew it was him leaving the notes. He wonders if he wants Nico to know.

“You used to be friends with that emo kid, right?” Cecil asks at lunch. Will shrugs, mostly because he doesn’t like that people refer to Nico as the emo kid. He just wore dark clothes and listened to loud music and kind of glared at everyone. “Well, he kept staring at you today in class.”

Will shakes his head. “I sit by the window. He was probably just bored.”

Cecil shrugs. “Maybe. I only noticed because most people were just sleeping.” Will laughs. That documentary had been so boring. Will had almost fallen asleep, which was probably how he didn’t notice Nico staring at him. “What’s his deal, though?”

Will frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he wasn’t always like that, right?” Will shrugs. From what he understands, grief can change people, but it didn’t always make them different people. Nico was always more introverted than Will. He didn’t really go out of his way to talk to others. He preferred working alone rather than in groups. He hadn’t always listened to loud music, though, or wore only black.

Will glances across the cafeteria, looking for Nico. He finds him settled in a corner, head bent low over an open notebook. If Will looks hard enough, he can see the hearing aid in Nico’s ears. He’d been thinking a lot about that the past year, how he hadn’t even realized it. Was there more he hadn’t realized? Had he just been so oblivious to Nico’s life? Had he been a good friend at all?

Will shoos away those thoughts. Of course, he’d been a good friend. He was still trying to be a good friend. He just hadn’t noticed because Nico hadn’t wanted him to notice.

“Didn’t you used to like him?” Cecil asks. Will shrugs. That hadn’t been the best day of his life. If he remembers correctly, he’d spent an hour or two crying and drafting apology letters to Nico in his head. They’d tried to make it work, being best friends without the awkwardness, but it had only worked a little. Then Bianca had died, and it’d all gone downhill.

Will’s leaving when he hears footsteps behind him. Nico.

“Hey, would you mind taking me home? Just today. Hazel’s at her boyfriend’s again.” Will smiles, like he knew that Hazel had a boyfriend.

“Sure. We just have to wait for Kayla.” Nico nods, slipping into the backseat. It feels weird. Will turns on some music. The CD for today was smooth jazz, something Nico used to like. Will tries glancing through the rearview mirror to see if Nico notices.

“I miss your dad’s CDs,” he says softly.

“Well, you’re welcome to borrow them,” Will says. It almost feels like normal. There’s still something in the way, though, stopping him from just vomiting his feelings everywhere. “I know he’s missed seeing you around the store.”

Nico shrugs. “I could probably stop by sometime.” Will smiles. He wonders what his dad would say about Nico’s music tastes now. There’s a long pause, and then Nico fills it. “How’ve you been?”

“Good. Got Into college, so that’s always a good thing.”

He sees Nico smile. “Congrats. So did I.” Will nods. He’s about to ask what colleges when Kayla appears, sliding into the front seat.

“I’m starving,” she says. “Think we can stop for a snack? I’m craving muffins or something.” Then she notices Nico in the backseat. “You’re welcome to come with.”

It looks like Nico’s about to say no, but he nods. “Sure. Why not?”

Will tries to squish the smile appearing on his face. It almost feels like old times.  
-  
Nico was sure he liked Will. There was no point in denying it now. He got those stupid butterflies in his stomach whenever he even thought of Will. Only now he realized they were ‘I really like you’ butterflies instead of ‘you’re my best friend’ butterflies. He’d even had a dream with Will in it a few nights ago (nothing risqué, just some cheesy date).

But did Will even like Nico anymore? He’d thought there was hope when he went to get food with Will and Kayla, though Will could have just been being nice. But Will had laughed at his jokes and had even paid for his food (since Nico had left his wallet at home). And they’d almost been like they had before.  
Nico knocks on Hazel’s door. She pokes her head out a second later, grinning.

“Yes?”

“I have a crush on Will.” Nico wonders if he was the only one to not see it because Hazel’s face doesn’t change. “But there’s no way he could still like me.”

Hazel rolls her eyes. “You are so oblivious. The both of you.” Nico pouts. “He tries to talk to you all the time. He even leaves those silly notes on your locker.”

Nico sits up. “What?”

Hazel blushes. “I kind of thought you knew. Those sticky notes? They’re from Will. I saw him do it one morning. And then he gave you a birthday present. And then you went and had muffins and coffee with him this week.”

Nico huffs now. He really was oblivious if he couldn’t even recognize Will’s awful handwriting and simplistic doodles. He hurries into his room, pulling out the sticky notes. He’d kept them because they made him smile, and sometimes he needed that. He reads through them, smiling. How could he not have noticed it before? Maybe he hadn’t wanted to. Maybe it’d been easier to ignore Will if he pretended that Will was also ignoring him.

“What do I do now?” Nico asks.

Hazel smirks. “Well, I know you’re writing him a super sappy poem. So you could give him that.”

“Yeah, but what if he just wants to be friends?” Nico asks. He’s never had to think so much before. Before, things had been so easy between he and Will. He didn’t have to think because he just knew. Now, he was second-guessing everything.

“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. He hasn’t even asked anyone out since you.” Nico shrugs. Nico had never asked anyone out. (Of course, his brain said, that was because he’d had a stupid crush on Will this whole time without realizing it.) “And you don’t have to date right away. You could become friends again. And then see.”

Nico hated (loved) that Hazel was so smart. Wasn’t he the one who was heading off to college shortly? He nods, quickly pulling out his notebook where he’d been scribbling ideas a poem he wanted to write for Will. He’d wanted to go for a limerick or something, something to break up the awkwardness, but he wasn’t feeling it. He opens up his laptop to the story he’d been working on last year. He’d given it up shortly after Percy had asked out Annabeth, but he’d looked at it after he realized that he hadn’t ever really liked Percy. He’d just admired his talent and good looks.

He reads through his story, laughing at how obvious his crush on Will had been. He’d even made it into the story as the main character’s love interest. While this guy’s hair had been brown, there was no getting away with the freckles and eyes like gemstones. Plus, he was smart and funny and taller than Nico.

Then Nico had an idea.

“I know that look,” Hazel says. “It’s nice to see you writing again.”  
-  
Will finds a bundle of papers on his front doorstep. He’s not sure how they got there. He picks them up, surprised when he reads the title. It sounded familiar, and the reason why is confirmed when he looks at the author. Nico. It was Nico’s story that hadn’t been finished. Was it finished now? Did Nico want him to read it?

Will smiles, moving to sit on the porch swing. He notices a few changes to the part of the story he’d already read. It felt familiar, beyond the fact that he’d read it once before. He glances around, wondering if Nico was somehow watching him. There weren’t too many places to hide on his front lawn, but Nico would be the one to know where there were some.

Will finds himself getting caught up in the story. The main character was so obviously Nico, and Will now realized that the other guy was Percy. Except, it didn’t sound like Percy anymore. The guy wasn’t athletic and handsome. Now, he was nerdy and loved eating ice cream more than playing sports. And beautiful. Nico’s character had called the guy beautiful.

Will holds his breath as he nears the end. He can feel one more page underneath his fingers. He’s almost there. The characters are talking, being cute together. They’ve just made up for their fight. Nico’s character is getting up the courage to ask the other guy out. And- Will flips the pages over. Is that the end? What?! He scans through the pages again, sure one is sticking to the other. He searches his porch, thinking maybe he dropped one. Nothing.

Will has half a mind to call Nico right now and demand he write the rest. Or is this all there is? Maybe all Nico had wanted was for the characters to make up. Maybe he was going to write a sequel, Will thinks, calming down a little. Yeah. Nico would write a sequel, and then the two guys would start dating and live happily ever after. They just had to. (Nico knew how much of a romantic sap Will was, and he did this to him? Next time they spoke, they would have words.)

He heads to school the next day, hoping to find Nico and talk to him. He’s got the story in his backpack. He’d reread it at least three times last night, trying to figure out who the other guy was. Maybe if he figured it out, he could help Nico ask the guy out. (Even though it still hurt that Nico wouldn’t ever think of Will like that.)

Will thinks that the fates are against him today. Usually, he has to almost avoid Nico, but now he can’t seem to find a chance to talk to Nico. He’s either talking to the teacher after class or in another class. Will can’t find him at lunch, and he doesn’t even know where to start looking. By the end of the day, Will’s a little frustrated. Was Nico intentionally avoiding him now? Did he just drop off his story because he’d promised?

Will’s walking up his driveway when he hears a familiar voice. He turns around, not quite believing his eyes. Nico’s standing in his driveway, a rose in his hands, a small smile on his face.

“Did you read it?” he asks softly. Will nods. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. It was amazing. Really.” He pauses. “Except for the ending. I think you might have to change that.”

He’d expected Nico to look a little angry or upset, but there’s a smirk on his face. “Yeah? What would you do differently?” There’s a challenge in Nico’s voice that makes Will hesitate. He’s still not sure why Nico’s holding a rose. Was he on his way to ask this mystery guy? (If so, couldn’t he have just left the rose in the car?)

“Um, the main character didn’t ask out his crush. He should have. They both liked each other,” Will says. “It was really obvious,” he adds.

Nico rolls his eyes. “Do you think he’d have said yes?” Will nods. “Why?”

“Because he’s absolutely in love with the guy. And then his friend also has a crush on him. So they should be together because that’s just how it should be. Please, Nico. You’ve got to write them getting together.”

Nico’s smirk hasn’t faltered yet. “Okay. Want to help me?”

“How?” Will senses dangerous territory between that smirk and Nico’s tone.

“You’ll see.” Then the smirk fades, and it’s replaced by this shy smile that’s so familiar. Nico steps forward, the rose outstretched in his hands. He’s just inches away from Will now, and Will’s kind of forgotten how to breathe.

“Will, I know that I haven’t been the best friend lately. With everything that’s been happening, I kind of forgot that other people existed. But I realize now that you’ve always been there for me, even when I didn’t want you to be.” He pauses. “And that’s why I’m so happy to call you my best friend.”

Will’s not sure where this is going. Those were the lines from Nico’s story. “Nico-“ he starts.

“But I’ve also realized that you’re more than my best friend. You’re the person I want to see every day, the one who can make me smile even when I don’t think I can, the one who knows when to talk and when to just crawl into bed with me. And I love you for that. I love you, Will.” Nico takes a shaky breath, wiggling the rose a little. “So, will you go out with me?”

Will’s pretty sure he’s also forgotten how to speak. He feels like crying and laughing and just hugging Nico all at the same time. So he does. He lets out a choked laugh that immediately dissolves into tears as he throws his arms around Nico.

“Thorns, Will!” Nico cries, but Will doesn’t care. He’s so happy. Nico doesn’t hate him. He loves him.

“I love you, too, Nico. Even though you’re an absolute idiot.” He’s pretty sure he can hear Nico’s eyes rolling.

“I know, I know,” Nico mumbles. “You never actually answered my question, though.”

Will pulls back, smiling. “Nico, you’re my best friend, and I’ve wanted to kiss you forever. Possibly even before our first kiss.”  
Nico does roll his eyes now. “What a sap, Solace.”

“Kiss me, Nico,” Will whispers. He can’t take much more of this. He’s sure his heart will explode. But then Nico does kiss him, and he’s sure he’s just died and is now floating somewhere in heaven. “My little angel,” he whispers.

Nico snorts against his lips. “Call me that again, and we’re breaking up.”

Will just shrugs, leaning back in for a kiss. “This one is way better than our first.”

Nico laughs. “Definitely.”

**Author's Note:**

> totally thought Will deserved a good/happy dad this time around (if you've been following my other works haha)
> 
> Comments are appreciated :)
> 
> I also accept prompts.


End file.
